


A Second Chance

by FluffySheepHair



Series: White Crusaders [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25650292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffySheepHair/pseuds/FluffySheepHair
Summary: Hydra Bravo has a newbie coming in for a supposed second chance for recruitment, despite the lad coming to the wrong sect. But Jay humors him and decides to help him on his way!
Series: White Crusaders [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737190





	A Second Chance

The White Crusaders has a motto. Anyone can enter, few can stay. The training process to become a Crusader is long and arduous. The only way to appeal rejection? To ask a leader of a sect, to go on a mission, and prove they're Crusader material.

And that's just what one man did. Lucifer Sharp, a young lad with straight light brown hair, was on his way to rejection until he decided to find someone he knew would be best. Alongside Tia, also known as Commander White, he finds the perfect dormitory, and rings the bell. Upon doing so, he's met with a girl with dark skin, black hair, and only a shirt on besides her underwear.

"Good morning..." the lady says, yawning. "Hey. Where's the food I ordered for everyone..."

"Oh, sorry." The boy says with a bright smile. "I was here to ask if the leader of Dragon Echo was here."

The girl stares blankly. "Drag... Ah. Right.You're a few floors past that. This is Floor 8. Dragon Echo should be on Floor 4.

"Oh, my mistake." Luc turns away, but before he does, a girl with brown hair in a ponytail answers the door. She has shorts on with a tank top that's got a broken strap.

"Oh, hey, hold on. If you're looking for a leader, why not ours?"

Luc smiled. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay for a bit, and talk with him, I was getting more acquainted with the leader of DE. Which sect is this?"

"Come on in, we'll keep ya company." Ravina drags him in against his will. "YO! FRESH MEAT!" Ravina screamed. Resulting in this cry, A girl with red hair, a boy with curly locks, and a bigger girl with black hair realize what's going on. Ravina and Kiana dash into the wardrobe as soon as they can. The entire room goes dark. Luc is a bit worried but also cautiously confused.

"Tia... what's going on?" Luc said in a startled tone. 

"I've no Idea but I'm very excited..." Tia was in awe of what was happening already. "They sure are quick to... do whatever it is they're about to." 

"Welcome, newcomer. To the White Crusaders." A rather mature voice says. A light comes from the top as she kneels forward, waving her arms to the right. "I'm Lonnie. The living wall standing tall!"

"Gaze upon our achievements, and our highest skills we've to offer!" A bubbly sounding voice speaks. The girl with red hair mimics a similar post to Lonnie's. "I'm Arlinda! I'm all about competitiveness and keepin' peace around these parts!"

"Don't underestimate us... because our estimations of those we are against are calculated accurately." The dark skinned girl whips her head back and forth, and flips it back, striking a kneeling crane like pose. "I am Kaleiokalani of the Wild Flower tribe, the specialist of espionage and quick cut operations. But I now answer to the name of Kiana."

"And even if you're nice, we'll still run the numbers on ya!" The ponytailed girl also mimics Kiana like Arlinda did to Lonnie. "I'm Ravina! I'm the tech head for all the Crusaders!!"

"You can never be too careful anymore. Anyone can be an enemy and anyone can turn a leaf." The boy with curly hair has his back turned, and lowers his body to show his face between his legs. "I'm Jay! The leader of this sect! And together... we form!"

The five then strike new poses, with Lonnie striking a rather interesting wrestling like pose, Arlinda spreading her arms straight while standing on one leg, Kiana holding her fist straight up and leaning towards Jay, Ravina holding her chin as if she were thinking, and finally, Jay kneeling with his arms pointing down at an angle.

"HYDRAAAAA BRAVOOOO!" All five say in unison. Luc stares in utter disbelief as to what he just saw.

"I... what the f--"

"Fantastic performance!" Tia says, clapping and smiling. "Oh, you definitely put lots of emphasis on Bravo. Such splendor and coordination like that deserves praise from me. In both battle and in performance, working together like that is key to becoming a great Crusader!"

"Thank you, Tia!" Jay said, breaking from his pose. "And Kiana, you did great too! You were much louder with your voice!" Kiana giggles nervously from the compliment. "Anyways, what's up? Is this a new recruit?"

"No, actually." Tia clasps her hands together. "You see, Luc here... Oh. Luc, why not have yourself explain what's going on and introduce yourself?"

"Sure." Luc smiled and held his hand close to his chest. "My name is Lucifer, but you can call me Lucian or Luc instead. I prefer Luc." The girls wave. Jay holds out his hand.

"Glad to have you a part of... wait, right, you're not in with us yet." He takes his hand back. "So what's up?"

"Well. I was rejected. But I feel I can prove myself to be a Crusader. Initially I was going to meet up with Dragon Echo. But I guess I got lost or mixed up along the way..."

"That doesn't mean you can't learn from us!" Jay says. "Tia, we'll get him set straight. But... Let's discuss stuff in private before we do." Jay looks behind himself. "Ladies, if you'd please... take good care of him while we talk." Jay and Tia walk outside of the room and begin to discuss what's going on. "So what's his deal, then, that he got rejected? He seems like a really nice guy."

Tia wiped locks of hair off her shoulder. "What I've been told is that he has a severe case of uncooperative attitudes. The person who was training with him told me he kept trying to take control of situations when he felt he had a better idea of what to do."

"Really? So he's a bit of a delinquent, then. Doesn't sound like it'd be too hard to deal with." Tia grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you sure? I just want to let you know what kind of trouble you'll be getting him in." Tia brushes a long strand of her hair from her shoulder as she shows her HAMMER device with the info that she wants to present. "We require any second chance Crusaders to do an A Class anomaly capturing mission."

"What?!" Jay was shocked. "But I didn't even get to do one until I was here for a month!"

"And that's the thing." Tia smirked. "If they think they're such hot shit then they'll be able to do this with minimal help. Right?"

Jay simply nodded. "If I could whip these girls into shape after lazing around, then I can put this guy Luc into gear and let him know who's boss!"

"That's the spirit! Go gettem, tiger!" Tia patted him on the back.

"Don't call me that!" He said, laughing. "I'm more of a bobcat if anything!" Tia waved her hands and kept the door shut before Jay could open it.

"Let me lend your ear just a little bit longer. If he fails... then he will not be able to become a Crusader. And if he dies? You will no longer be a Crusader." Jay swallowed a hard lump.

"Know what, let's talk more about this Luc guy." Jay turned back around to face Tia with a stern look on his face. "I should probably ask about his neurokinetic power..."

"Good thinking" Tia said, with a warm smile. "As expected from a leader. Luc's power seems to be quite powerful."

"I'd say he's up there with Arlinda. Fast, heavy hitting..." Tia's HAMMER device on her wrist began to beep. "OH! Goodness!" Tia bowed. "Excuse me, I got a bit distracted! I have a meeting to go to in a bit, Jay. Just make sure that both of you review the mission details and tell him where to go."

"Got it." Jay turns around again. "So... This could be my last day, huh?"

"If he does die... I'm certain he'll live." Tia turns her back. "But I won't guarantee he'll see success."

"Huh?"

"I said, that I won't guarantee that he will succeed. That is all there is to it."

The mission started in the afternoon, beginning with a long walk to a plateau. During the walk, Luc would survey Jay on being a Crusader.

"Jay," Luc asks. "It's a level 5 threat due to its power, right?" He takes a look at the design of the anomaly projected on his rented HAMMER device, with its lizard like face. "It's so small. How bad could it be?"

Jay looks at the design of it on his HAMMER device, and shakes his head. "Well, if you actually took the time to read upon it, you'd realize the anomaly spits out water at high volumes. It's no joke either. The plateau being wet would be dangerous and cause mudslides."

Luc sighs. "Sorry, I didn't have time to look into it."

"Well, if you wanna ask questions here and there, how about you tell me more about what you're capable of?" Jay asks in a polite tone.

"I'd rather show it." Luc says in a more cocky tone, beginning to walk faster, and ahead of Jay. Luc notices a few rocks that sparkle, like they're covered in clear gems. "And there it is..." Luc began to bolt up to the mountain north of the rocks.

"Hey, hold on! Don't go without me!" Jay shouted as he began to catch up with him.

"We have our marker at the location its been estimated to be at. Besides, better quick than not done, right?" Luc smirks as he starts to scale the mountain with very quick and high jumps. His acrobatic movement is easy for Jay to keep up with. "It's at the top here. The section of the mountain where it's at has the crystallized rocks that we just passed by. Let's go, already!" As they run towards the spire, rocks fall from above.

"Shit!" Jay manages to use his transforming onyx for protection, using a giant shield shape form to protect his whole body. "Luc, slow down! Those rocks show no signs of stopping..." Luc finds a good crevice in the side of the spire. In the crevice, he spots an entrance deeper into the rock formation.

"Up here, we might find a way to the top through the cavern." Jay leaps up to the crevice with ease, and slowly walks forward, trying to get his footing back.

"Let's hope you're right, Mr. Super-Hero."

Luc scoffs. "Do you not believe me or just don't want me to lead?" He folds his arms. "I can tell you've got some kind of superiority complex for your status as the leader of Hydra Bravo that you can't stand the idea that someone might be better suited for the position than you."

"Shut up," Jay mumbles.

Luc smirks. "Did I strike a nerve? Quite a quick response for someone who definitely HAS a superiority complex."

"Will you stop saying that? I already told you, I don't have one!" Jay angrily snapped.

Luc rolls his eyes. "Oh well, as you wish." Luc walks a bit towards the opening of the cave. It's damp and musky. "Can you potentially make that rock turn into a torch?"

"Yeah, but where are we gonna get a fire to light it?" Jay earnestly asked.

"Good point. Well, It's a good thing I can do this..." Luc moves his left arm forward with an open palm facing where he's looking. In front is what looks like a long beam of light that illuminates a small area.

"Whoa..." Jay looked at the light that was created. "Tia didn't tell me about this."

"This is something I was taught. Utilizing some of my neurokinetic powers, I can manifest light. And if I concentrate more power, I could do much more. Weaponry, teleportation... but it can take a toll on me if I rely on it too much." The dim light was held in Luc's hand as he lifted his hand up, an illuminating glow around it that wasn't too bright but bright enough to aide in their ascent. "Alright, let's do this." The both of you walk into the cavern, which seems to be vacant. Nothing is coming at them. "Jay, tell me. Now that we've got some down time..." Luc looks at his partner as he creeps forward with the glowing light in front of him. "What did you join the White Crusaders for? Money? Power?"

Jay wipes some sweat from his brow. "Well, truth be told. My father was a Crusader. I wanted to be like him. Well, him and my mentor."

Luc scoffs. "So, it isn't even the will to do something you feel is right."

"What?"

"Are you sure that there is not any deeper reason you joined? I personally joined because I wanted to prove myself to the world. You've got something else to do. An ulterior motive." Luc gives a piercing quick glance at Jay.

"Not... really." Jay says quietly as he frowns.

Luc turned his glowing hand to Jay's face. "You joined to make yourself feel important. Is that it?"

"That is NOT what it's about! I... just..." Jay began to bite his lip. He was starting to have doubts with this discussion.

"Bloodlines. Your family was a part of the Crusaders. You're doing this because you feel it's an obligation, aren't you?" Luc scowls, seeing Jay's face get flustered as he feels he's finally poked at his psyche.

"NO! That's not it!" Jay screams, now walking a bit faster as he tries to move away from his partner.

"Jay." Luc appeared in front of Jay from the darkness and let the glow appear under his face. "I'm going to ask you a very honest question. Are you ready for it?"

"What do you want to know?" Jay muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Where's your motivation?" Jay stood in absolute silence trying to fish for an answer. "You have none. It's clear." Jay sighs, slowly and subtly nodding. "One day you'll lose the will to be a part of the White Crusaders until you can find what motivates you. Something there has to be inside you, telling you to keep going. Right?" Luc turns around, leading both of them forward with the light from his hands. "Let's keep looking for a way up."

"Okay..." Jay says quietly, barely audible. The light that Luc was emitting grew larger, brightening up the cave. "Do you see anything at all that looks like it could lead up to that beast that's at the top?"

"No." Luc replied.

"That's pretty hard to believe. There's got to be something. If there is, it's not something we can climb and jump down from." Luc stops and turns around.

"Are you implying that we'll have to climb up the rocks of the cavern?"

Jay shakes his head. "We may need some way getting up there. Luckily, I have this rock." 

Luc begins to look at the rock. "That thing turned into a shield before. What's your big plan now?"

"The rock can turn into anything that I've held to memory. With limitations, of course. I have an idea." Jay turns the rock into a hammer. "This mountain range has geysers inside the caves. They're deep enough inside to spray water up and not cause slides."

"Are you going to hit one of he geysers?" Luc asks.

"Of course!" Jay held out transforming onyx. "Let's try it out." Luc walks ahead of Jay, who turns the rock into a large hammer. "When I hit he ground... it should be quieter than usual. That's where the geyser is." Jay hits multiple parts of the ground. A few minutes of hitting the ground pass.

"Wait." Luc stops Jay. "Isn't this place prone to mudslides?"

"I knew you'd ask that. Yes, it is. But the geyser is inside, and not enough to cause more damage than the anomaly we're after." One last pound on the ground causes the ground to rumble. "This is it!" Jay then turns the rock back into the giant shield and hops inside. Luc joins alongside him.

"I hope this works." Luc says with a bit of skepticism. The geyser blows Jay and Luc up through the cavern. At the apex of the geyser spout is a cliff inside, with light reaching from above and seeping through a crack. "And all we gotta do is climb it now." Jay says. Luc nods. "Let's do it." The two jump from the geyser and begin scaling the inside of the cave. It did indeed lead to the top. And there, the anomaly is. It has grey skin, and is walking on all fours. It looks like a giant iguana with much more dangerous and lethal looking spikes. "Well. Let's make some donuts!" Luc begins to take the light he created, and it morphs again, turning into a much more solid looking object, a kodachi specificaly, and charges at the beast. The creature swings its spikey tail at the floor, hitting Luc and knocking him off his feet. The spike at the end of its tail is looming over Luc. Jay backs away slowly as Luc uses minor telekinesis to move himself from underneath the beast, and in front of him. "Heh. Thought it was smaller than it initially was..."

"Luc, you're gonna try and distract it!" Jay turns the rock into a long lance, enough to poke at the beast. He does so, luring its attention.

Luc turns around. "What? I couldn't hear you!" The creature turns to look at Jay.

"Just give me a moment, and I'll-" But as the creature turns, it swipes the ground, causing Luc to lose his footing once again. Jay stood in silence. "Shit..." Jay soon turned his lance back to the rock it once was. Not even half a second, and he snapped, turning it into a long sword, as he charges at the anomaly. "Let's give it ALL WE GOT!"

Jay starts flailing wildly at the creature who in fear of Luc's fate. Tears formed from the arid climate burn his eyes. The beast roars as its skin is slashed, with light amounts of blood spouting from its fresh cuts. It begins to inhale. Jay attempts to stab at the beasts' neck while it breathes in. "You're not gonna blow out anything if I can help it!" Jay screams as he cuts open its neck. The creature falls to the ground, spraying blood and flesh all over the cavern. It begins to spasm, arms reaching for Jay, but he thankfully is quick enough to maneuver away from the lizard's grab happy hands. "I forgot... Luc, we have to keep this thing alive. We can't kill it. We need to apprehend it for preservation..." The beast rears its ugly head back and begins to scream, and starts to charge towards Jay. "Dammit, wh--" A bright flash fills Jay's sight, with a rumbling noise coming from below. After the light fades, Jay finds himself falling down the cavern. Jay falls into some of the blood from the beast, now a bit sticky, but unable to move. "Shit... no..." He's become a bit immobile and his senses are slow to come forth. It's like he can feel his body regaining its composure. Not even a few seconds later, he hears what sounds like a gunshot from the same area. "What the hell?"

"Stay away from him." A voice says behind the beast. The beast turns to whatever it is that spoke to and shot at it. It's unable to look at whoever is talking. Instead it looks back at Jay. Then, the beast growls. "I said to stay away from him." The same voice says. Jay clears the blood off his face, and yet another flash of light illuminates the area. Jay begins to move again, and this time he's got his sword changed into a long mace. He swings the mace right at the head of the long necked beast. It smashes into the beast's head, but it isn't powerful enough to incapacitate it. It tackles Jay to the floor, with the mace flying from his hand.

"No... I can't..." Jay tries to reach for the mace, but it's too far. "Luc... please be safe... get out of here..." The creature looks down on Jay, as it grabs his neck. It's eyes turn red, opening its wide mouth to reveal teeth and a long wiggling tongue.

"I said... STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Spheres of light attack the beast, paralyzing it for a short moment dropping Jay from its grasp. "Jay! If we can make the geyser erupt again, we can get it stuck in here and unable to exit! The water will flood this place and it'll get too warm and grow tired!"

"Who... who is that?" Jay said in such a daze that shows fatigue has overtaken him. "Luc!? What are you doing!?"

"Sorry to take a look at what this thing is like too late. I took some time to check what makes it move and how it acts." Luc looked a bit bloody, but was able to stand up. "I may have taken a few hits from it while trying to keep it from doing too much damage. But if the geyser were to fill the cavern, it would keep this thing down here."

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Jay screams.

"Your orders, Sir..." Luc says. Jay looks at his eyes and smiles.

"You've got my permission." With his approval, Luc beings to shoot more energy at the ground. The energy lights up the place.

"Do you see the exit?"

"Yeah! It's actually behind you on the cliff!"

"Then get up and run to it!" Jay does as he's told, as Luc keeps shooting energy at the ground in hopes the geyser erupts. Luc walks backwards towards the exit while still shooting energy. "When I get to the edge, I'm releasing all I got... that way we know we have that thing stuck here." The beast begins to slowly turn and charge at the two. It's regained its footing! Luc takes both his hands and shoots energy at both the beast and the ground. Water begins to spout from the ground. "It's about to blow!" Luc runs towards the exit, as the beast falls backwards. Water begins to shoot from the ground, and the area begins to flood. Luc runs with Jay outside of the cavern through the crevice. Both are panting heavily from the intense heat the place is giving off. The water from the geyser has flooded the entire cavern. The beast is flailing about trying to swim to the top of the water, but it can't go any higher. "We... we got it trapped. Now we just gotta call in others to get it back to Ivory Towers..." Jay says.... and then, he sees a long bloody claw reach through the water towards his leg. He screams, as it grabs his leg. "Don't worry Jay. That thing is gonna let go. It's growing sleepy." Luc says in confidence. The beast wiggles it's claws to let go of Jay's pants leg, but it can't let loose from the fabric. It begins to yank harder and harder with an enraged growl. "The cavern is filling up. The heat from the geyser should cause it to stop." But the beast pulls Jay into the water with its claws. He screams and struggles to get out of the beast's grip. The creature swims away with him, still grasping his leg with it's claws. "Shit, no!" Luc dives in the scalding water, but he can barely even see. He spots Jay through his newsboy hat, and tries to grab him, bringing both him and Jay to the surface. Jay begins to cough up air from being submerged for so long. The claw that grabbed him has now stuck to his shirt. Jay tries to kick at the claw, trying to get himself free. He scratches at the creature, but can't get out of its grasp. The geyser erupts as more hot water comes up, filling the cavern and pouring out of the cave entrance. Luc starts to shoot more energy at the beast, in hopes that it will let go.

"Luc... you've got a limit... and I can see it..." Jay says. He attempts to further escape the beast's pinned claw but the blasts cause water to spray outside of the cavern. The geyser is turning the cavern into a lake at this point! Once the geyser stops, Luc holds his arm up with his left hand.

"If this is what I have to do..." Luc then turns his held arm's hand into a fist and smashes it into the water, causing it to cool down immensely. The beast begins to slow down, as if it collapsed from the sudden temperature change. The beast finally lets go of Jay, grabbing a floating Luc after expelling almost all his energy. Both coughing and gasping for air, the two stick to the caves entrance to catch their breath and regain their stamina. "Well... now all we do is call for the extraction units?" Luc asks. "We should get out of here first..." Luc tries to stand up to walk towards the exit, limping a bit. "Shit, I had no idea how much I'd strain myself."

"Hold on." Jay gets up with ease and wraps Luc's arm around his neck. "I'm supposed to help you here. You deserve this break." The two start heading back towards the exit. Jay is shaking a bit, but he manages to walk fine. "I didn't think we'd survive the hot water... guess it cools down quick." The two make it out of the cave only to find the flooding caused the cliff side they're on to become soft and malleable. "No way... it actually created a mudslide!?"   
Jay gets his transforming onyx out. "Well. Only one way to get down." Jay detaches from Luc and turns the rock into a shield. Luc creates a solid light plate to mount his feet onto, and the two begin to ride down the mudslide like a slope. Something inside of Jay began to emerge. A feeling of his fears melting away, and a new emotion involving this experience. He begins to ride it like a surfboard, hanging ten and even doing spinning flips each time he's launched from a rock. Luc just simply stares at Jay, thinking he's insane, only for him to realize, with a wide grin of confidence, that this was a challenge. "What a silly guy."

"WOOO!" Jay's roars of excitement echo through the basin of the plateau. "Hey, Luc! First one down to the end buys dinner for everyone!"

"Well then, I guess I'm buying." Luc replies, far behind and playing it safe. The mudslide begins to slow down. And Jay, as Luc predicted, is the winner of this surprise snowboarding race. They continue riding down the mudslide, as it slows to a stop. Jay realizes they're now at the base of the spire. The mudslide is no longer flowing.

Jay stood silent catching his breath. To break it, he says, "The thrill." He exhales, "of this surprise mudboarding race... it's gone." Luc exhales, realizing he's right. They're tired, and cold, and hungry, and about to be soaked again. "The thrill... The thrill. The thrill!" Jay says clinging to Luc. "Yeah sure, we suffered a fuck ton but... oh my God. That's why I do this. It's the thrill! That's what it means to be a White Crusader!"

Luc looks at him like he's gone a bit nuts. "What are you going on about?"

"My motivation." Jay begins to talk softly. "I just felt so alive and invigorated... the adrenaline coursing through me just felt so good! It felt like every dangerous part was so intense yet so scary!" Jay exhales and inhales. "Jeez... that... that's my motivation. The thrill of the feel."

Luc begins to smile and laugh. "So you found it. The motivation to drive you forward..." the extraction units flew in for the anomaly, and for a good day's work, they were even offered a ride back.

The two reported back to Tia after returning from the site.

"Tia! We're back! Did you see the results?" Jay noticed Tia's wasn't facing him or Luc.

"I can't... I CAN'T!! WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED?!" Do you realize what you've done?! I'm so..." She groans as she tries not to throw a vase next to her, but she calms down. "Th...The mountains... that's not the problem here... oh no, not at all..."

"So where's the problem?" Luc asked, worry going over his face.

Jay began to speak. "Yeah, we just got back, what's--"

"Everything is wrong! The wrong location, the wrong classification of anomaly, and even the wrong type of people to go after it!" She leans over her desk, spotting Jay and Luc. "...Give me a moment. I have some other matters to tend to."

"Oh, sorry..." Jay said walking back.

"Hey, hold on. Sorry, I was in the middle of a different case." Tia turned around, her angry visage suddenly gone. "I've heard things about your mission."

"Oh no..." the two said.

"No need to worry. I have wonderful news. The plateau you two were at is unaffected by the mudslide created. The anomaly we captured has been put into a high security cell, and most importantly..." Tia held in her hand a small briefcase and placed it in front of her. "Lucifer Laurel Sharp. Today, you start as a member of Hydra Bravo of White Crusaders."

"Wait, you're not mad at us?" Luc asked. "I thought--"

"Sorry, sorry! I was in communications with someone at a totally unrelated job and site..." Tia sighs, then she looks into Luc's eyes with a smirk. "...Quite the reaction from someone who got rejected and is now accepted."

"Thank you, Tia. I'm not one to usually celebrate for something that should be seen as a high honor." Luc bowed, and then looked at Jay. "And, thank you most of all, Jay. For helping me. Teaching me. Helping me learn what it's like to be a Crusader."

"I should thank you too for helping me find my purpose... and..." Jay leans in and whispers, "Thanks for providing our dinner tonight."

"HEY, fuck you! I thought you were joking!" Luc yelled in an upset tone, with Jay laughing as a response.

"Don’t worry, we'll get some fast food or something." Jay and Luc walked back into their dorm, with the four girls ready to congratulate them. Except, they weren't. They were playing cards.

"That's my hand again." Kiana said, looking at Lonnie. "I hate to sound rude... and I don't want to say what's been on my mind."

"Oh come on, we're tough gals." Arlinda said. "Out with it! Besides, not like you've been the most vocal. You're pretty damn good."

"Sis, what do you expect?" Ravina groaned. "She literally stays silent most of the time. That's not a poker face. It's the face of a stone."

Kiana points at Arlinda. "You have an awful poker face." Kiana points at Lonnie. "You suck at bluffing." And finally she points at Ravina. "You...." Her stoic face grows into a crooked smile. "...have a crush on that guy that came in here, don't you?"

"Who, me!?" Ravina started to give a hearty laugh. "God damn, I've got my money on him getting rejected AGAIN!" Ravina puffed on her lit cigarette. "'Sides. If ya really want my opinion on any cute guys around here..."

"I'm sorry, what'd you say I'd be?" Luc leaned over Ravina.

"Oh! Hey guy! Uh..." Ravina started to nervously back herself into the ground. "S-sorry to hear..." Luc shook his head. "...congratulations on..." Luc nodded. "SHIT!" Ravina flipped the table, and began to grumble as she fidgeted with her HAMMER device. Lonnie's HAMMER device started ringing. "God damn you and your optimism, you ginormous stick of butter. I'm gonna get my 300 units back one day if it means having to gut you like a whale and selling your gravy stained organs!"

"Oh, I'm so impressed!." Lonnie said, as she began to clean up the mess Ravina had made. "You've finally moved from farm animals as an insult!"

"Well, it's official. Luc's one of us now!" Jay exclaimed. "We're all gonna go out for food... and Luc? Don't worry about paying. Lonnie will."

"What?!" Lonnie shrieked."But... But I just--"

"Just confirmed to us you have the most money out of us for spending, and will be buying our dinner." Lonnie pouted.

"Fine. But I want the guest room tonight if that's the case."

"Oh shit..." Jay looked at the guest room. "We may need to get a bigger mattress. Not all of us can fit on the one we have now... Two people may have to sleep in the guest room for a bit."

"Well... I'll let Luc sleep in it tonight then." Lonnie said.

"It's my turn in the guest room as well." Kiana said. "I'm turning in early. Playing Poker with you three is more exhausting than actual work."

"I may wanna rest too. Sorry to clock out early, guys." Luc said. "And Jay. Thanks for all this. I can't wait to work with all of you." Luc walked back into the guest room. The place was huge. It was glamorous. What Hydra Bravo would never tell you is that their main bedroom is a pigsty and never stays clean for more than an hour. The guest room is more of a luxury room for one crusader a night, if anything.

"Oh. You're coming to bed too?" Kiana asked, stripping to her underwear.

"Yeah. The shit we had to do was rough." Luc began to take his shirt off and take off his pants. Kiana couldn't help but stare at the red spots on his chest.

"It's like you got freezer burn..."

"Don't worry. I'm fine. It's a bit sore." Luc lays on the bed, staring straight into the ceiling. "So you said you used to be called Kaleiokalani."

"Mmm." Kiana lays alongside him. "My birth name from my time when I was in the wildflower tribe... Dark times. But they helped me grow."

"Jay told me you're an immigrant. I kinda wanna know more about your culture."

"I am..."

"Do you... know what this is?" Luc held out his hand. Flat shards of light formed and it looked like a flower, with petals joined closely. Kiana's face lit up.

"It's... beautiful..." Kiana stared. After a few seconds she looked back up. "Oh. This flower... I don't recognize it. Sorry."

"It's all right. I recreated this flower with my memory. Neurokinesis is quite the power..." He clutches his hand into a fist, as the light shatters into pieces and then dissipates into thin air. "I feel that Arlene girl... The one with the red hair. She could potentially have an advancement of her own power. I reviewed her performance and it seems that she could use her feet a lot more than just to run."

"Oh? And me?"

"Well." Luc began to hold her hands. He stroked her left palm, thinking to himself. "It's soft. But right here, in the center..."

"What's wrong with my hand?" Kiana asked?

"You should hold your weapons with more care. A loose grip outside of combat can--" Luc stopped in a state of shock as his eyes opened wide. "Did... you just..."

"Did I what...?" Kiana looked at him with suspicion.

"I didn't mention anything about your hands..."

"...Yes you did..." Kiana muttered. She started to have a thought circling in her head. "No way this guy can read my mind... can he?" She grew silent and breathed in and out. "You're a natural neurokinetic too, aren't you?" She thought.

Luc simply stared at her. And all he could say was in his mind. "You tell me." Kiana's face went from slight fear to a warm smile.

"So I'm not alone..."

With Luc's inclusion, the team grew from five to six. Luc was seen as very valuable and he learned his place and to not try and take control from the leader. Not only was he great on point, but sometimes he'd even join Arlinda on patrol or Ravina with assisting in R&D. But the one thing he had trouble on...

"Why does this hurt?!" Luc whined. "I don't wanna do this dumb shit anymore!"

"Come on, dude! We all did this before you got here!" Arlinda yelled. "And trust me, the HARDEST part about this was finding a six person team pose!"

"So get to practicing your role!" Ravina said, smacking a riding crop onto a chair. "Let's see it again! Tree pose, arms high, then a lurch forward with an open palm!"

"Jay... if I had known this is what I was gonna get into... I would've gone STRAIGHT to Dragon Echo!"

"If it makes you feel better, we specifically got you to do the easiest part of the group pose." Jay said, as he rehearsed his. He held his arms in an X in front of him, then swiped them far and away from each other in the air, crossing his legs, and diving his upper half forward while moving his arms back. "Once you do it right five times, it's easy! The White Crusaders may have the most prestigious people, those who are gifted, and those who are the best. But the one thing that matters most... is that it requires synergy."

"What?! How does doing this help?!"

"It's an exercise if anything! It helps us grow, and it helps us learn to get along." Jay says, falling flat on his ass as he tries to do his part of the pose. "Owww."

"Ehehe..." Ravina slyly looks at Jay.

"Hey, I've got burns, alright? I can't do much."

"Let's see you do it, specs." Luc bashes.

"Fine!" Ravina stands up and tries Jay's part. She holds her arms out in an X and throws them into the air, and after crossing her legs she falls on top of both Luc and Jay. "Know what? Fuck this stupid pose shit. Let's just introduce ourselves like normal human beings from now on."


End file.
